


This Is War

by angelskuuipo



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s05e15 A Hole In The World, F/M, GFY
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-16
Updated: 2012-04-16
Packaged: 2017-11-03 18:12:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/384361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelskuuipo/pseuds/angelskuuipo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Willow had gotten word of Angel’s request for help?  A fix-it for A Hole In the World.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Is War

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: [This is War](http://youtu.be/Zcps2fJKuAI) by 30 Seconds To Mars
> 
> This was written in honor of my 8th writing anniversary for the lovely and talented Carla. I don’t know that this is what you were after, but it’s what your prompt inspired. I do hope you enjoy it! Thanks be to Elisabeth for the beta.
> 
> Originally posted on my journal on February 7, 2012.
> 
> This is my first time posting here. Hopefully, I'll be adding more in the near future.

~*~*~*~*~

_A warning to the people, the good and the evil  
This is war  
To the soldier, the civilian, the martyr, the victim  
This is war_

Willow stared at Giles, not quite able to believe what she’d just heard. “You said what?”

Giles sat calmly behind his desk and said mildly, “I told him that you were currently on the astral plane and unreachable.” When she just blinked at him, he sighed. “Honestly, Willow. Do you really think I’d let you anywhere near Wolfram & Hart? Angel’s plea is obviously a trap to try and lure you there for some nefarious purpose.”

She continued to stare at her mentor and, she’d thought, friend and realized that she no longer recognized the man in front of her. For him to turn down a request for help…especially from Angel who _never_ asked for help if he could possibly avoid it, that wasn’t the Giles she thought she knew.

Without a word Willow stood up and headed for the door. She needed to find out what was going on so she could pack accordingly.

“Willow?”

She paused with her hand on the doorknob, but didn’t turn around. She said, “I’m sorry, Giles. I’m sure you think you mean well, but you can’t keep me from helping him. I’ll let you know how things turn out.”

She heard Giles sputter and stand, but left before he was able to try to change her mind. Regardless of where Angel and his crew were currently fighting, her place was with them if they needed her help. This was a war after all.

_It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie  
The moment to live and the moment to die  
The moment to fight, the moment to fight  
To fight, to fight, to fight_

Willow zipped her carryall shut and looked around one more time to make sure she had what she might need. There was a soft knock on her door and she gave an absent, “Yeah.”

The door opened and two more bags landed on her bed. She looked up, startled, and found Faith and Dawn standing there with arms crossed and identical stubborn looks on their faces.

“We’re going with you,” Dawn said; her tone daring Willow to disagree with her.

She blinked at them both. “Faith?”

Faith shrugged. “You might need some muscle. “’Sides, I wanna know why they did what they did.”

Willow nodded in acceptance at her explanation then looked at Dawn. “Does Buffy know about this?”

Dawn pursed her lips. She finally offered, “Better to ask forgiveness than permission.”

Faith snorted softly and Willow winced, but she really didn’t have time to argue. “Fine. Just…don’t get dead. Alright?” She looked at them both. “Either of you.”

Dawn nodded and Faith rolled her eyes, but inclined her head. “We’ll do our best, Red.”

Willow grabbed her bag and slung it across her body, prompting Faith and Dawn to do the same. She took their hands and just as she felt the room warp around them, the door burst open. The last thing the three of them saw was Buffy’s furious face.

_A warning to the prophet, the liar, the honest  
This is war  
Oh, to the leader, the pariah, the victim, the messiah  
This is war_

The trio landed in the lobby of the Hyperion and took a few minutes to get their equilibrium back. Faith stared unhappily at the layer of dirt and dust that coated the furnishings and muttered, “What the hell were they _thinking_?”

Willow and Dawn looked around as well. Finally, Willow said, “I have no idea, but I’m sure they had a good reason; which I’ll be happy to let you beat out of Angel if he tries to wiggle out of telling us.”

Dawn snickered and Faith nodded in agreement.

“Come on. Time’s a wasting.”

They left the abandoned hotel and managed to hail a cab that took them to the Wolfram & Hart offices.

Faith stared at the building moodily. “Never thought I’d willingly walk in here again, ya know?”

Dawn squeezed her shoulder. “Totally different reasons this time.”

Faith nodded and took a deep breath. “Alright. Let’s go save a life.”

Willow sent up a prayer that she’d actually be able to do that and the three entered the belly of the beast. 

And promptly pulled up short when they were greeted by Harmony, who was at the front desk talking to the receptionist.

“Oh my god! Willow? Dawn? Um, you look familiar, but I can’t remember your name? What are you all doing here?”

Dawn and Willow both took a step back as Faith moved slightly in front of them. Willow’s hand unconsciously went up to cover the scar of Harmony’s bite.

Willow frowned. “Angel called. What are you doing here?”

Harmony smiled and bounced a little. “I’m Angel’s Administrative Assistant!”

Dawn bit her lip to keep the laugh that wanted to escape inside while Willow’s eyes widened comically. Faith snorted and said under her breath, “Oh, Xander would _love_ to hear about this. Talk about karma being a bitch.”

Dawn’s shoulders started shaking with suppressed mirth even as Willow managed to stutter out, “Th-that’s great H-harm.” She cleared her throat then said steadily, “Um, any chance we could see your boss? He said it was an emergency.”

She looked at them suspiciously for a moment bud nodded. “Yeah, sure. You’re gonna help Fred?”

“We’re going to try,” Willow replied as they followed her up the sweeping staircase to the second floor and towards the large double door off to the left.

Harmony opened them without knocking and said cheerfully, “Calvary’s here, boss!”

Angel was on the phone and looked up irritably at the interruption, but his expression cleared when he caught sight of who was behind his annoyance of an assistant. He hung up on whoever was on the other end of the line without saying anything and stood.

“You came,” he said blankly. “Giles said we were on our own.”

All three ladies’ jaws clenched and Willow gritted out. “He was mistaken.”

_It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie  
The moment to live and the moment to die  
The moment to fight, the moment to fight  
To fight, to fight, to fight_

They got a little sidetracked when Spike walked in. It took a good fifteen minutes of Willow and Dawn yelling and slapping at him before they calmed down enough for him to explain why he hadn’t contacted them. Angel and Faith just leaned against Angel’s desk and silently wished they had some popcorn so they could really enjoy the show. The girls were still upset after his explanation, but they could kind of see his point. He had some serious groveling to do to get back into their good graces, but that would have to wait.

Willow and Dawn met with the rest of the Fang Gang and Wesley gave them everything he’d been able to dig up on Illyria before going back to Fred’s bedside.

Willow followed him and talked to Fred for a few minutes before she took Fred’s free hand and looked into her fever-bright eyes. “I will do everything I can, Fred. I promise.”

Fred smiled wanly. “I know. Thank you for coming, Willow.”

Willow leaned down and kissed her clammy forehead. “Get some rest.”

_A warning to the people, the good and the evil  
This is war  
To the soldier, the civilian, the martyr, the victim  
This is war_

Five hours later Dawn was ready to throw in the towel. They’d tossed Angel, Spike, and Faith out after the first hour because of some stupid argument involving cave men and astronauts. Lorne and Gunn were working whatever other angles they could think of. Wesley was, of course, with Fred. Dawn hadn’t found diddley-squat that they could use to save Fred and didn’t think Willow was faring any better. She laid her head on the table and mumbled into the table top, “I don’t know if we can do this.”

Willow rubbed her eyes then rested her head in her palm. She didn’t want to agree, but the situation was looking pretty dire. Wesley had called half an hour ago and Fred was getting much worse. They were running out of time.

“That _thing_ ,” Dawn spat as she sat up, “is eating her _**soul**_.”

Willow’s eyes widened and she bounced in her seat a little. “Oh! Oh! Oh! That’s it!” Her hands fluttered and the books on the table started to rise.

Dawn blinked and hurriedly said, “Rein it in, Will.” Willow took a deep breath and the books returned to the table. “Now, what did you figure out?”

“Illyria is eating Fred’s soul. It needs to consume her to open a way into this world. What if we take her soul before it can finish?”

Dawn looked at her, nonplussed. “How do you propose to do that?”

Willow bounced up and dove for her bag. She pulled out a small box and opened it to reveal an Orb of Thessula.

“You want to _**curse**_ her!?” Dawn yelped incredulously.

“Not exactly,” Willow hedged.

Dawn narrowed her eyes. “What are you thinking?”

She gave a half-hearted shrug. “I’m not sure yet. I need a few minutes to get my thoughts in order. But I’ve got a feeling that this, whatever this is, will work.”

Dawn studied her for a long moment then nodded once. “All right. Do what you need to do. I’ll run interference,” she said then quietly left the room.

Willow sat and put her head between her knees. What she was about to try was extremely dangerous, but she had no choice. This was the only option. Taking a deep breath, Willow centered herself and slid off the chair onto the floor. She slipped into a deep meditative trance and began to pray.

She startled a little when she felt a hand on her shoulder and an echoing voice said, “What you seek to do is very dangerous indeed, my child. Is this person worth it?”

Willow opened her eyes and found herself on the astral plane. Gaia stood before her waiting for an answer. Willow bowed and tried to loosen her tongue. She hadn’t expected an actual audience with her Goddess.

“Yes, Mother, she is.”

“Why?”

Willow blinked at that. “Winifred Burkle is a good person; a normal, if incredibly brilliant, human being who has willingly chosen to take up the fight against evil.”

“And yet she works in the heart of evil on this plane,” Gaia pointed out.

Willow nodded reluctantly. “I haven’t exactly gotten an explanation yet why they took over, but I’m sure they had good reasons at the time. That doesn’t change the fact that Fred is my friend and I don’t want to see her consumed by an Old One. No one deserves that fate, especially her.” She sighed sadly. “And I honestly think that if Angel loses one more person he cares about that we’ll lose him, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“A champion is only good when they have something to fight for. His Shanshu is a noble goal, but what is becoming human worth if he has no one to share it with? Fred, Gunn, Lorne, Wes…Cordelia, they are his family and he’s come close to losing them too many times. He did lose Cordelia and with her his link to the Powers.” She looked up at Gaia with tear-bright eyes. “I understand we’re pawns in the Powers’ games, but we deserve a little bit of peace and love. Don’t we?”

Gaia smiled benevolently down at her. “You do. And that is why I will grant you this request.” She reached into her robes and pulled out a scroll and handed it to Willow. “You make me proud, my daughter.”

The tears she’d been holding at bay spilled over and Willow said shakily, “Thank you, Mother.”

Gaia bent down and placed a reverent kiss on Willow’s brow. “Go, save your friends, and know you all have my favor.”

_I do believe in the light  
Raise your hands up to the sky  
The fight is done, the war is won  
Lift your hands toward the sun_

Willow blinked and found herself back in Angel’s conference room with the scroll Gaia had given her clutched in her hands. She quickly wiped her tears away before she unfurled the parchment and read through the ritual. She sniffed and chuffed out a little laugh as she realized the spell had been tailored specifically for her to do with the ingredients and people she had on hand. Without wasting any more time she ran for Angel’s office and burst in, surprising the four occupants.

“I’ve got it! I need everyone in the conference room in two minutes then I’ll teleport us to Fred’s.” She ran back to the conference room before anyone could question her.

Faith stared after her. “Guess we better go then.”

Lorne and Gunn were approaching Angel’s office as they were heading out and turned around to follow them. Willow was bouncing impatiently on her toes, bag slung across her body, as they all crowded around her.

Angel started to ask her a question, but she held up her hand. “We don’t have time. Yes, I’m sure this will work. No, it won’t kill me. Yes, it will kill Illyria. Now, everyone find a part of me to touch and don’t let go.” She rolled her eyes and elbowed Spike. “Hands off my ass, Spike.”

“Oi! I’m holding your hip, Witch.”

Faith snickered. “That’d be me, Red.”

Willow harrumphed and the next thing any of them knew they were in Fred’s living room.

Gunn swallowed. It was kind of impressive that he managed to look a little green with his skin tone. “I’ll get a cab back to the office,” he said weakly.

Lorne was clutching his left butt cheek and agreed wholeheartedly.

Dawn looked at him in fascination. “Why are you grabbing your ass like that?”

“It’s where my heart is,” he replied with as much dignity as he could muster.

“Sweet,” she said with a grin.

Wesley came in with Fred cradled in his arms and everyone sobered up immediately.

Willow ignored them all as she set up for the ritual. Angel stood reading the scroll over her shoulder, his eyes getting wider and wider. “Willow,” he asked softly, “how did you come up with this?”

“Gaia,” she answered shortly.

He swallowed and didn’t protest when she asked for a lock of his hair and a bit of skin. She collected what she needed from everyone, had Wesley lay Fred down in front of her, and then cast her circle.

She took a moment to center herself then began. Everyone watched with baited breath, no one daring to speak a word. Willow’s chanting reached a crescendo and Fred let out an almost inhuman scream, her body bowing in pain. 

Faith and Spike both grabbed Wesley as he lunged for the circle. Dawn winced in pain as Angel clutched her shoulders tightly, but understood he wasn’t doing it on purpose. Gunn and Lorne held their breath even as they pried Angel’s fingers loose.

Then it was over and Fred lay panting in the circle, pale and a little weak, but alive. Willow slumped over, breaking the circle, and mumbled, “Sleepy now.”

When she woke up she was lying on Fred’s couch and Angel was sitting by her hip, leaning over her at little. She blinked a few times and smiled sleepily. “Hey.”

He gave her a half smile. “Hey.” Then he did the last thing she ever expected.

Angel leaned down and kissed her.

And it wasn’t a chaste, friendly thank-you-for-saving-my-friend kiss either. Willow’s toes curled.

When he let her up for air it took her a minute to remember how to form words. “Wha-what was that for?” she asked a little dazedly.

“For being you,” he said simply.

“You’re welcome?” she said uncertainly.

He smiled at her in a way she’d never seen before. He was _happy_ and it showed.

Trying not to get flustered, Willow said, “So I take it Fred’s okay?”

If anything, Angel’s smile got wider. “She just polished off about a dozen tacos. She’s great.”

Willow smiled. “Good. That’s very good.” Then she sobered. “Now that she’s safe, I want to know how you all came to be at Wolfram & Hart.”

The smile left Angel’s face as if it had never been. He closed his eyes and said wearily. “I had my reasons.”

“Duh. I, no, _we_ want to know what they are,” Willow said as she crossed her arms and put on her resolve face. Okay, so maybe it didn’t have quite the oomph it normally would since she was still laying on the couch and Angel was still leaning over her, but her intent was still clear.

Angel opened his eyes and flinched a little at the look she gave him. Then he smiled and leaned down to kiss her again. “Don’t ever change, Willow,” he murmured against her lips.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do, mister,” she said a little breathlessly.

“You’ll get your answers, Little One. Just, for right now, let’s just enjoy the win. Okay?” he pleaded.

Willow caved. She had no idea why exactly Angel had decided she was kissing material or what was going to happen when this little bubble of solitude burst, but for this moment she’d take the time and enjoy what little peace there was.

-30-


End file.
